Maersk Line said the containership was fired upon and seized because of a dispute over 10 containers transported a decade ago.
Both Maersk Line and the government of Iran said the cargo ship that was fired upon and forced to anchor in Iranian waters earlier this week was made to do so because of a commercial lawsuit.
Maersk said the dispute is over 10 containers it transported a decade ago.
Iran’s Port and Maritime Organization said the Maersk Tigris, was “arrested according to the Legal Court of Tehran and stopped after being transferred to Shahid Bahonar Port area in Bandar Abbas Port.”
“The verdict was issued according to the legal claim by a private company named Pars Talaee Oil Production Company against Maersk Shipping,” the organization said. The organization noted it has no involvement in the case and would not benefit from the arrest.
“This claim was presented in the legal courts during the last years as a lawsuit and after following the procedures for proceedings, having received the plea from both parties and asking for reconsideration of the issue, the final verdict was issued by the concerned court of competent jurisdiction and the Maersk Line was condemned to pay for the financial loss for the plaintiff according to the final enforceable verdict.”
Maersk said it met Wednesday with with the Ports &
Maritime Organization in Iran and “based on media statements made by
Iranian officials, we must presume that the seizure of Maersk Tigris is
related to a cargo case from 2005. We have, however, not received any
written or formal confirmation that the seizure and the cargo case are
connected.”
“We must insist that the crew and vessel are released as soon as possible. The crew is not employed by Maersk Line, nor is the vessel owned by Maersk Line. Maersk Tigris and its crew are thus not in any way party to the case,” the Danish ocean carrier said.
Maersk gave this account of the legal dispute:
“In early January 2005, ten containers arrived in Dubai (UAE), which Maersk Line had transported on behalf of an Iranian company. The containers were never collected by the consignee or any other party. After 90 days and in accordance with UAE law, the cargo was disposed of by UAE authorities.
“The Iranian company subsequently accused Maersk Line of default before the Tehran Revolutionary Prosecutor’s Office and claimed recovery of $4 million as the value of the cargo. We challenged the suit successfully and in 2007 the case was dismissed.
“The Iranian company sought to try the case in other Iranian district courts, which was lastly rejected in 2009. Hereafter the Iranian company initiated civil proceedings against Maersk Line at the Tehran Public Civil Court.
“On 18 February 2015, after 4 years of proceedings, the appeal court of Tehran ordered Maersk Line to pay the Iranian company $163,000. We have accepted the ruling and are willing to pay in accordance with same.
“The Iranian company appealed the case seeking a higher compensation (the amount of today’s cargo value). Only today, 30 April, have we learnt that the appeal court has ruled Maersk Line to pay $3.6 million. As we do not have the details of the ruling, we are not able to comment hereon, nor at this point speculate on our options.
“Our paramount concern remains the safety of the crew and the safe release of the vessel. We will continue to do everything we can to resolve this matter with the relevant Iranian authorities,” Maersk added.
Maersk Line does not own the 2014-built ship or employ its crew. The 5,466-TEU containership is time chartered from and managed by Rickmers Shipmanagement.
The online ship database Equasis lists Wide Golf Ltd., an investment group affiliated with Los Angeles-based Oaktree Capital Management, as the vessel owner.
Dennis Bryant, attorney, consultant and author of Bryant’s Maritime Blog, said while he could not comment on the legal dispute between Maersk and the plaintiff, “There is a significant issue though with regard to the manner in which the Maersk Tigris was detained by the Iranian Government.”
“As I understand it (relying for my information in this regard on press sources), at the time it was ordered to change course and then when shots were fired over its bow, Maersk Tigris was transiting through the Strait of Hormuz from the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf and was in the correct lane of the IMO-designated TSS (traffic separation scheme.),” said Bryant.
“If so, Maersk Tigris was lawfully engaged in what the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) refers to as ‘transit passage’ through a strait used for international navigation,” he added. “Per Article 38 of UNCLOS, the right of transit passage may not be impeded except for limited purposes not here pertinent.”
John Kimball, an attorney at Blank Rome, said, “Although the facts remain unclear, a seizure of the vessel on the high seas to enforce a civil judgment is a clear violation of international law and the right of navigation on the high seas. To the extent the ship may have been within Iran’s territorial sea, it had a right of innocent passage which appears to have been violated.”
Rickmers said Thursday that following an urgent request to Iranian authorities, a representative of Rickmers was allowed to board the Maersk Tigris, to attend to its 24 member crew.
“In his contacts with the crew our representative has been able to establish that all seafarers are safe and on board the vessel. Given the current circumstances they are all in a good condition,” it said.
“We would like to stress that Maersk Line is not the owner of Maersk Tigris and has no involvement in the day-to-day-operation of the vessel,” the company said. “Furthermore we would like to emphasize that we take our responsibilities as an international service provider to the shipping industry very seriously complying with all applicable laws and regulations as we have done on our scheduled commercial voyage from Jeddah to Jebel Ali.”
“As we believe our crew, the vessel and our company have no part in the current issue between Iran and Maersk Line, we see no valid reason for the detention of the ship and would therefore like to do an urgent and strong appeal to the Iranian authorities for the immediate release of our seafarers and the vessel. In the meantime, all our efforts will be aimed at ensuring the well being of our crew and their families. Simultaneously, we will continue to liaise with relevant international authorities and professional advisors to come to a swift resolution of this very serious matter.”
